Aljam Alkbyr - Grand Mosque

Known locally as al Jami al Kabir or the Grand Mosque of Akouda, this historic jami in the town of Akouda north of Sousse serves as the principal Friday gathering point for its residents. Akouda itself is an ancient settlement amid the olive groves of the Sahel region, its name likely derived from a Berber root, and its history has been intertwined with that of nearby Sousse since antiquity. Tunisia's Islamic heritage begins with the opening of Ifriqiya by Uqba ibn Nafi, may God be pleased with him, and the foundation of Kairouan in 670, whose Great Mosque and Uqba mosque remain among the most venerable monuments of the faith in the Maghreb. The Aghlabid, Fatimid, Zirid, Almohad, Hafsid and Ottoman dynasties each left their mark on Tunisian religious architecture, and scholars such as Sahnun ibn Said, al Mazari and al Shabibi, may God have mercy upon them, contributed substantially to the wider Muslim learning tradition. Sousse, a Unesco recognised city of the Tunisian Sahel, preserves the Great Mosque of Sousse with its severe fortress like facade and the adjacent ribat, and the architectural character of its region is distinctively austere and dignified. The architectural tradition favours pale limestone walls, compact domes often flanked by corner turrets, square minarets of Aghlabid character, arcaded courtyards with central fountains, and simple carved mihrabs. Five daily prayers gather the olive farmers and residents of Akouda, Friday gatherings bring a substantial crowd from the surrounding fields and beaches, tarawih through Ramadan fills the hall with reciters whose voices echo the Kairouanese school of Qur'anic cantillation, and Eid prayers are followed by family visits, the exchange of makroudh pastries and the scent of jasmine in the courtyards. Qur'Qur'an alongside Arabic instruction meets inside the afternoons. Travellers exploring the medinas of Sousse and Monastir, the amphitheatre of El Jem or the beach at Port El Kantaoui will find this mosque a distinctly rooted example of Sahel Tunisian religious life. Olive harvest festivals each November bring freshly pressed oil to the mosque courtyard, where elders bless the season's produce with supplications and a ritual first tasting that has been repeated in the towns around Sousse for many grateful generations of farmers.